HOUSE PRICES RISE FOR FIRST TIME IN SIX MONTHS

House prices have risen for the first time in six months, according to new figures from Halifax. House prices increased by 1.1 per cent in October, taking the average property value to £281,974 (BBC News).  

The rise is driven by sellers taking a cautious attitude, leading to fewer homes on the market. However, Halifax expects house prices to fall further overall, and return to growth from 2025 (The Guardian).  

INTEREST RATES UNLIKELY TO RETURN TO ZERO 

Interest rates are unlikely to return to the near-zero levels seen in the 2010s, Huw Pill the chief economist of the Bank of England has said. Rates are instead likely to settle at a level “below where we are” but probably higher than the pre-Covid era (City AM). 

Pill, speaking in an online presentation organised by the Bank of England, suggested that the Bank might wait until the middle of next year before beginning to cut interest rates from their current 15-year high (Reuters).  

NEWS IN BRIEF

Charles III will today deliver his first King’s Speech, setting out legislation that is expected to include measures on tougher criminal justice sentencing, oil drilling in the North Sea and new encryption rules for technology companies (Financial Times).  

More than 100 UK companies have admitted breaching sanctions against Russia since its invasion of Ukraine last year, according to new figures from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) (The Times). 

The Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority have set out proposals to bring stablecoins into the real economy as a payment option for goods and services (Financial Times).  

New data from Barclays shows that British consumer spending grew at the slowest pace in more than a year last month (Reuters).